Justice System for Youth REVIEW

Chap 2

OUTCOMES FOR CHAPTER 2:

Analyze the role that citizens and organizations play in Canadas justice
system by exploring and reflecting upon the following questions and issues:
How do citizens and organizations participate in Canadas justice system (i.e.,
jury duty, knowing the law, advocacy, John Howard Society, Elizabeth Fry
Society)?
What are citizens legal roles and their responsibilities?
What is the intention of the Youth Criminal Justice Act?

KEY QUESTIONS to REVIEW:

What does the term fair and equitable mean? (pg. 56)

What is Canada's justice system and what is it trying to do? (p. 64)

What is one of the fundamental principles of justice in Canada and other

democratic countries? (p. 64).

Define the following term (p. 58-59)

Legislation - __________________________________________________

When you get caught breaking the law who begins to make choices about
what happens to you? (pg. 66-67)

If you are arrested what rights do you have? (pg. 64-67)

What is the role of a Youth Justice Committee? (66-67)

What five aspects of the YCJA are mentioned on page 64?

What is a criminal record and what are some of the consequences of

having one? ((pg. 64)

What other circumstances may apply that could affect how a youth is

treated after a criminal charge has been laid? (Chart page 66)

Before the Youth Criminal Justice Act every young person who broke the
law was charged and went to court. What problems did this create? (p. 67)

From the chart on page 66 and 67 list all of the people who may be
involved as the result of a youth criminal act.

What factors determine the consequences young offenders face? (p. 68)

Why does Anne McLellan say that young people, up to a certain age, should
not be treated as adults? (p. 69)

According to Anne McLellan how can young people get involved with youth
justice?

What are the principles and objectives of the YCJA? (p. 70)

What do statistics say about how often young offenders get into trouble and
the age at which they first break the law? (p. 71)

What two changes to the YCJA were proposed in February 2007? (p. 72)

What facts regarding Aboriginal young offenders did Canada's Correctional

Investigator find? (p. 72)

What two opposing issues are seen in the abbreviated version of an

editorial from the Edmonton Journal in July 2007? (p. 73)

In the cartoon on page 74 what do the jail and the young person represent?

What situation does the carton show?

What is the main idea or point the artist is communicating?

___________________________________________________________________________

What is a jury? (p. 79)

What must you do if chosen to serve on a jury? (p. 79)

How can some people be excused from jury duty? (p. 79)

How many people may be called for jury duty even though only 12 are

needed? (p. 80)

Who decides which prospective jurors will make up the final jury? (p. 8081)

In what ways does the court try to ensure that a sequestered jury does not
have contact with the outside world? (p. 80-81)

How many of the twelve jurors are needed in order to pass a guilty or not
guilty verdict and what happens if they don't?

How are the two major citizen-led organizations John Howard Society and
Elizabeth Fry Society involved in the justice system? (p. 82-83)

In what way are the Elizabeth Fry and John Howard Societies different?

What are sentencing circles? (p. 84-85)

Social Studies 9
Chapter 2 PAT Review PRACTICE Questions
1. AnycommunityinCanadacanformaYouthJusticeCommitteewhichisbasedontheideathat
youth:
A)shouldbeencouragedtoenterintocareersinthelegalprofession.
B)crimeaffectseveryoneinacommunityandthatthecommunitymustbeinvolvedinsolutions
topreventcrimeanddealwithoffenders.
C)whocommitcrimesshouldbetreatedexactlythesameasadultoffenders.
D)tendtocommitcrimesbecausetheyareimmatureanddon'tknowanybetterandtherefore
shouldnotreceiveanypunishmentorconsequences.
2. Readthecartoonbelowtoanswerthequestion.

Source: www.dolighan.com
The cartoon above illustrates that youth crime results from parents being
A)toostrictindiscipliningtheirchildren
B)notconsistentlypresentintheirchild'slife
C)cluelessaboutwhatyouthhavetofacenowadays
D)themainsourceofgrowingpressureputonyouth

3. Usetheinformationintheboxbelowtoanswerthequestion.
Thisorganizationworksindependentlyofthegovernmentandfocusesonsolvingtheissuesin
societywhichcontributetocrime,aswellasworkingtohelphealandrehabilitatethosewho
havebrokenthelaws.Looktooneoftheseorganizationsifyouneedinformationabout
Canada'slawsandjusticesystem.

Which type of organization is described above?

A)Consumerfocusgroup.
B)Postsecondaryinstitution.
C)Governmentministry.
D)Justiceadvocacygroup.

4. ThecreationoftheCanadianYouthCriminalJusticeActin2003isbasedontheideathatyoung
offendersshouldbe:
A)dealtwithmoreharshlythanadultoffendersbecauseitisimportanttocreatemeaningful
andhardsentencesforyouthoffenderstodiscouragethemfromreoffendinginthefuture.
B)treatedthesameasadultoffendersbecauseallpeopleshouldbetreatedequallyandthe
consequencesforcommittingacrimeshouldnotbedifferentfordifferentpeople.
C)prosecutedandsentencedbyajuryoftheirpeerswhichwouldbeotheryouthfromthe
community.
D)treateddifferentlyfromadultoffendersbecausehavedifferentwaysofinterpreting
situationsthanadultsdoanddon'talwaysunderstandtheconsequencesoftheiractions.


5. Usethefollowinginformationtoanswerthequestion.

Source1

Source 2
Youth Crime Rate Declines
The youth crime rate fell 6% from 2004 to 2005, and youth violent crime declined 2%.
During the same period, the rate of youthsthose aged 12 to 17 yearswho were
charged decreased 6%, and those cleared otherwise fell 7%. Changes in legislation
such as the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA), which came into force in 2003can
significantly affect the number of youths who are diverted from further exposure in the
justice system. The YCJA contains provisions that are designed to allow youth who have
committed less serious offences to be diverted from courts and custodial facilities;
serious offenders serve longer sentences.
Source : Statistics Canada

Based on these sources, the best explanation for why youth crime charges have decreased
over time is that youths
A)getawaymoreeasilywiththeircrimes
B)canreceiveconsequencesotherthanformalconviction
C)arelessviolentthaninthepast
D)arechallengingrecentcriminallaws
6. Usetheinformationintheboxbelowtoanswerthequestion.

TheCanadianFederationofStudentsisagroupformedtoprovidestudentswithaunitedvoice
inthefederalandprovinciallevelsofgovernmentandrepresentthecollectiveinterestsof
studentsinpostsecondaryinstitutionsacrossCanada.TheCanadianFederationofStudentshas
playedalargeroleinhaltingthetuitionfeeincreasesproposedbytheprovincialandfederal
governmentsandtorestorethefederalgovernmentstransferpaymentsforpostsecondary
education.

Given this information, the Canadian Federation of Students most likely a(n):
A)lobbygroup.
B)politicalparty.
C)mediaoutlet.
D)antigovernmentassociation
7. JusticeadvocacygroupsliketheJohnHowardSocietyandtheElizabethFrySocietyfocus
primarilyon:
A)lobbyinggovernmenttomakecriminalsentenceslongerandkeepingcriminaloffendersinjail
forlonger.
B)workingtoreducecrimebysolvingissueswhichcontributetocrimeandworkingto
rehabilitatecriminaloffenders.
C)providingcounselingandservicestovictimsofcrime.
D)workingtoimposestifferpenaltiesandsentencesforcriminaloffenders.